


Turning Tides

by anenko



Category: Changeling Sea - McKillip
Genre: Gen, Story Fragment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-11-26
Updated: 2004-11-26
Packaged: 2017-10-03 19:38:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anenko/pseuds/anenko





	Turning Tides

The morning tide came, and brought with it treasure.

The beach shone with gold, gold so bright that Carey's eyes stung as she looked out upon it. She knelt, and drew sand and gold into her scooped skirt by the handful. Her skirt grew heavy with the weight of it, and still there was more, and Carey knew that the boats could remain docked today and they would be all the richer for it.

She laughed, and cried, and turned to Mare with a shining face: "Do you realize what this means?"

Mare turned her frown from Enin to Carey. There was still gold scattered at her feet, and no joy in her eyes. "It means," she said, "that you will find new ways to bring misery upon yourself."

*

The beach picked clean of gold, they fought.

For days, they argued, the fishermen and the tradesmen, the men and the women. They argued as they rolled gold coins between their fingertips, and Carey began to see that dreams lived behind seaworn faces.

On the fourth day, they fell silent, in sullen agreement, and all Carey understood was this: There was to be no great homes erected along the shore, no fine dresses and finer jewels, no handsome young noblemen casting admiring gazes upon her. This was their chance--this was *her* chance--and the promise that had met her with the morning tide had been denied.

Carey wept bitterly into hands she could aleady see turned old and cracked and bent with drudgery.

"This is for the best," Mare said, and touched her hand to Carey's bent shoulder. "We will prosper and be safe, in secret."

Carey saw diamonds, lost, in her tears.


End file.
